They've been besties in the unenviable quest to get Europe to right its economic ship, and now German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be giving French President Nicolas Sarkozy a hand on the campaign trail in what promises to be a challenging campaign for her European counterpart. From Deutsche-Welle:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to "actively support" French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his campaign for re-election, her conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) party said in Berlin Sunday.

"The CDU chairwoman, Chancellor Angela Merkel, will actively support Nicolas Sarkozy with joint appearances in the election campaign in the spring," the CDU said in a statement.

The CDU is the ideological counterpart to Sarkozy's UMP, and the two leaders - often dubbed "Merkozy" for their close political cooperation - both have an interest in keeping each other in office.

However, it is rare for German political leaders to insert themselves into foreign elections.

CDU Secretary General Hermann Gröhe has already taken part in UMP campaign events. In a speech in Paris on Saturday, he said the policies of Sarkozy's Socialist opponent, Francois Hollande, would weaken Europe.

The first round of presidential elections in France is April 22. Hollande leads Sarkozy with 56 percent support in the most recent polling.

MORE: Heads of State

(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Relations between love-hate allies Pakistan and the United States have always been tense, but not like since Osama bin Laden was found tucked away in a compound in Pakistan last year. The killing of bin Laden brought questions forth about long the terror leader had received refuge there in the decade since 9/11 and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, and who in Islamabad knew what. But a continuous source of tension has been U.S. drone strikes at terror targets inside Pakistani borders. Islamabad knows that it must support Washington picking off radical Islamists who are a threat to the country's democracy, but the act of the strikes ignites anger from Pakistanis that also threatens the ruling government.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Giliani criticized the drone strikes and the "trust deficit" with Washington yesterday. Dawn reports:

Speaking the day after over 100,000 people massed in Karachi to protest the strikes, Yousuf Raza Gilani said they only served to bolster militants.

"Drones are counter-productive. We have very ably isolated militants from the local tribes. When there are drone attacks that creates sympathy for them again," Gilani told reporters at the Davos forum.

"It makes the job of the political leadership and the military very difficult. We have never allowed the drone attacks and we have always maintained that they are unacceptable, illegal and counterproductive."

...Gilani said that Pakistan now wanted to agree new rules of engagement with the United States.

"The unilateral action taken in Abbottabad, that was not liked in any quarter ... We need assurances that such a unilateral action will not be repeated in the future. There is a trust deficit."

The prime minister said it was in both countries' interests to cooperate as partners and Pakistan had paid a high price at the hands of militant groups.

"We want to work together and we are fighting against militants and terrorists. We have paid a huge price for that."

What do you think?

MORE: What are drone strikes, and nine more of your World News questions answered

(Photo by Ron D'Raine-Pool/Getty Images)

After a year that wasn't kind to dictators -- Moammar Gadhafi, Kim Jong-il -- another one may be ready to bite the dust, and not a moment too soon as his country needs a chance of economic and social recovery from decades of brutal rule. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, now 88 years old, said in 2005 that he would remain ruler until the ripe old age of 100. Now he's talking about retiring amid talk of health concerns linked to his advancing age. But don't get too excited -- this is Bobby Mugabe we're talking about, and he'll want to exit HIS way. More:

President Robert Mugabe is reliably understood to be planning to retire after the next elections to pave way for his hand-picked successor, who will protect his interests and shield him from punishment for human rights violations.

Officials close to Mugabe said the veteran leader, in power for 32 years, was scheming to win the next elections by all means necessary and hand over power to a younger leader as part of a strategy to resolve the crisis around his succession and keep Zanu-PF in power. Mugabe wants elections this year.

Senior Zanu-PF officials told the Sunday Times that Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, 66, was earmarked to take over from Mugabe, 88, if he wins the next polls. Mnangagwa, despite his battered reputation due to his involvement in human rights abuses - mainly the Gukurahundi massacres - remains a powerful figure in the faction-ridden Zanu-PF.

Playing dirty one last time, for old time's sake. Human-rights groups are already casting warnings about how an election would play out.

"The continuation of human rights violations against critics of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party cast doubt on whether the country will be able to hold an election free from violence and human rights abuses similar to the 2008 second round of the presidential election," the group said in a statement.

Amnesty urged Mugabe to "rein in elements in the security forces who seek to undermine the (government of national unity) by ordering arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention of his perceived opponents."

A PRIMER: Behind the news in Zimbabwe

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

So much for the Arab League monitor mission in Syria, which seems to have done nothing but buy time for the Bashar al-Assad regime to continue its brutal campaign against civilians. After last month's incident of the head of the mission saying that he found "nothing frightening" in the city of Homs -- the bloody flashpoint of the 10-month uprising -- regime opponents lashed out online at the Arab League for basically observing with their eyes closed. Saudi Arabia pulled out of the mission on Sunday, arguing that Assad had clearly not followed the Arab League's peace plan. "We are calling on the international community to bear its responsibility, and that includes our brothers in Islamic states and our friends in Russia, China, Europe and the United States," Prince Saud al-Faisal said.

But wait -- even though more than 600 Syrians have been killed since their arrival, the Arab League is extending the monitoring mission for another month. More:

The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to reporters, said the U.N. would train the observers.

The observer mission is supposed to be the first step toward implementing an Arab League plan to end the Syria crisis. Other points are pulling heavy Syrian weapons out of cities, stopping attacks on protesters, opening talks with the opposition and allowing foreign human rights workers and journalists in.

If the United Nations Protection Force from Srebrenica gives us any historical indication, the UN's observation skills too often include turning a blind eye to atrocities. Let's hope that the weak monitoring skills put on display by the Arab League don't become even more desensitized to the killings unfolding every day in Syria.

It was no coincidence that al-Faisal mentioned Russia today, which would like observation to continued indefinitely with heads buried fully in the sand.

LEARN ABOUT: Who are the Syrian opposition?